Monopteros

//məˈnɒptəɹəs// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A classical temple made up of one circle of columns supporting a roof.

    "I leafed through the various boxes and drawers, staring sometimes for minutes on end at a star-shaped vault or diamond frieze, a hermitage, a monopteros or a mausoleum, without knowing what I was looking at or why."

Example

More examples

"I leafed through the various boxes and drawers, staring sometimes for minutes on end at a star-shaped vault or diamond frieze, a hermitage, a monopteros or a mausoleum, without knowing what I was looking at or why."

Etymology

From Latin monopteros, from Ancient Greek μονόπτερος (monópteros), from μονο- (mono-, “mono-”) + πτερόν (pterón, “wing; circle of columns”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.